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Trust Ulysses to join in laughing when he didn’t even knohat the joke was

"Soy tu ‘helper’!" he said He pointed to his chest "Ulysses help today"

"Yes, that’s right," I said, tousling his hair "What should we have?"

"Huevos rancheros!"

"Okay," I said "You kno to et eggs," I said to him

I nodded to Niko as we left He was busy with his charts

If huevos rancheros is scras with salsa on top, then Ulysses did, indeed, kno to make huevos rancheros

"Okay, team" Niko addressed us after everyone had asses today We are going to begin restoring and cleaning up the Greenway And we are going to assess our resources"

Chloe groaned, "A," as if assessing resources was a chore her parents

"Alex, you and I will take an inventory of our power and security The rest of you will begin Operation Restock"

Niko took the top poster board away and he showed us all the map of the store Each kid’s name was on a sticky note and was placed in an area

Sahalia--Media Department

Chloe--Pharmacy

Max and Ulysses--Automotive

Batiste--Toys

The McKinley Twins--Home Improvement

Me--(surprise, surprise) Food and Drinks

"Why doesn’t Josie have an aisle?" Chloe asked

"I have a secret project," Josie told us

"Oooh, what is it? What is it?" the kids demanded

"You’ll see," she answered with a wink

Niko went on with our assignments--ere to restore each aisle exactly to how it had been before the earthquake

Niko stood up and gestured over to the cart corral right next to our dead school bus

There were six stocked shopping carts lined up Each cart held a mop, a broos, and trash bags--lots of trash bags

First, Niko told us, we should load up carts with everything broken and daed, then haul it over to the stroller aisle--now dubbed the Duo back to our aisles, replace the re items on the shelves, and clean up

This was for nine am to noon Then we’d have lunch Then rest time

Josie nodded It was clear she’d been consulted in this plan of Niko’s

And then another three-hour work shift on Operation Restock

Then the kids had free play until dinner

I expected total rebellion froly

Okay, everyone except for Sahalia She took hers unwillingly and crashed off, spitting curses under her breath

The little kids seeonna clean my aisles the fastest," boasted Chloe

"Nuh-uh," answered Max "Me and Ulysses are the team to beat!"

Jake and Brayden, of course, did not participate

They had made themselves a little bunker in the Sports aisle and were busy drinking beer and playing laser tag It was as if they had decided not to recognize Niko’s leadership

Throughout the day we heard the as they tro stuff, in the course of their game

Which was just e needed-- fun

But restocking the aisles was sort of fun, too, in its oay

Niko taught everyone how to read the labels on the shelving units, so each Polly Pocket set went to the right space; and how to face the products out, so you could find said Polly Pocket set with ease He was a perfectionist and asked for nothing less than total commitment to detail from each of us

"Caroline, I see that you have these sheer drapes organized, but I noticed that the creaht-inch ones," Niko would say

"We ondering about that!" Caroline would chirp from atop her step stool

And then they would take out the cream ones and find where they went and put them there and it was better

"Hey, Chloe, see how these Advil have this child-safety lid? They go right here These other ones, with the easy-off lid, they go over here"